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☆ Australia regulator seeks risk reports from banks on startups, crypto -report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, March 22 (Reuters) - Australia's prudential regulator has started asking the country's banks to declare their exposure to startups and crypto-focused ventures following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, according to the Australian Financial Review (AFR). The APRA declined to comment on the report but referred to its statement last week that it would intensify supervision of the local banking industry and seek more information on any potential impact from Silicon Valley Bank's collapse. ANZ Group Holdings (ANZ.AX) declined to comment, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) and National Australia Bank (NAB.AX) did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment. Treasurer Jim Chalmers last week said Australia was in a good position to withstand some of the market volatility because the country's banks were well capitalised, well regulated and had strong liquidity. Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/4] A combination of photographs shows people using automated teller machines (ATMs) at Australia's "Big Four" banks - Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (bottom R), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (top R), National Australia Bank Ltd (bottom L) and Westpac Banking Corp (top L). REUTERS/StaffSYDNEY, March 17 (Reuters) - An A$300 billion ($201.21 billion) refinancing task for Australia's biggest banks is about to get harder, say analysts, as appetite for new debt shrinks across global markets roiled by concerns about bank stability and liquidity. "Now major banks don't have to hit markets everyday... but ultimately banks can't stay out of the market forever." Refinancing today would add extra 5 to 10 basis points to banks' costs versus a week and a half ago, he added. ($1 = 1.4910 Australian dollars)Reporting by Lewis Jackson and Scott Murdoch; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

March 14 (Reuters) - Australia's economic health will be its central bank's compass for plotting the course of rate hikes, as stringent regulation insulates its banking sector from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) (SIVB.O), analysts at top domestic banks said. Analysts at three of the top four lenders - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), National Australia Bank (NAB.AX), and ANZ Group Holdings (ANZ.AX) - continue to expect the RBA to deliver its 11th consecutive rate hike next month. 0#RBAWATCH"The Australian domestic fundamentals remain consistent with further tightening from the RBA," Adelaide Timbrell, senior economist at ANZ Research said. Australian banking sector, while not immune to the collapse of SVB, is in a "more insulated" position, Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at NAB said. Globally, banking stocks have taken a hit from the collapse of SVB despite of assurances from U.S. authorities, prompting a reassessment of interest rate expectations.

☆ Asian markets tumble as SVB fears rattle banking sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Investors are now on edge over whether the demise of SVB could spark a broader banking sector meltdown. On Monday, US stocks were mixed, with banking shares taking a hit. In Hong Kong, shares in Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Hang Seng Bank fell 3.7% and 1.3% respectively. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group both dropped more than 7%. In Seoul, KB Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group fell 3.6% and 2.5% respectively.

☆ Australian court fines ANZ Group $6.6 mln for breaching consumer protection laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 10 (Reuters) - An Australian court has fined ANZ Group Holdings (ANZ.AX) A$10 million ($6.6 million) in penalties for non-compliance with consumer credit protection laws in a case that stems from the country's Royal Commission proceedings, a corporate watchdog said on Friday. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) said the fine related to the lender's home loan introducer program – that allowed third parties to refer customers for home loans – between March 2017 and March 2018. The court case stems from a 2017 Royal Commission inquiry into Australia's financial services industry, which ended up exposing widespread misconduct in the sector. "ANZ has cooperated with ASIC during this process, is nearing completion of a customer remediation program and has made changes to its home loan processes," the bank said. ($1 = 1.5161 Australian dollars)Reporting by Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australian regulator says banks paid $3.10 bln in compensation for wrongly charged fees
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Australian dollars are seen in an illustration photo February 8, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel MunozMarch 10 (Reuters) - Australia's corporate watchdog said the country's six largest banking services providers have paid or offered A$4.7 billion ($3.10 billion) in compensation to customers who suffered losses for fees charged for services that were not provided. The largest business lender in Australia, NAB, took the lead and coughed up A$1.49 billion in compensation as of the end of 2022, followed by CBA and Westpac coughing up a payout of A$1.13 billion and $1.03 billion, respectively. ASIC said its final update on remediation figures "draws a line" under its eight-year long programme of addressing financial institutions' failure to provide ongoing services to fee-paying customers. ($1 = 1.5177 Australian dollars)Reporting by Riya Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia's 'Big Four' banks to hike home loan rates to match RBA move
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 9 (Reuters) - Australia's so-called 'Big Four' banks said on Thursday they would pass on the central bank's latest quarter-percentage point interest rate hike in full to their home loan customers. Among the top four lenders, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), National Australia Bank (NAB.AX), and ANZ Group Holdings (ANZ.AX) will hike their rates from March 17, while Westpac Banking Corp's (WBC.AX) will hike its rates from March 21, the banks said in separate statements. Interest rates in the country have already gone up by 350 bps since last May, when they were at an all-time low of 0.1%. However, RBA Governor Philip Lowe said the central bank was closer to pausing its aggressive cycle of rate increases as policy was now in restrictive territory, and suggested a halt could come as soon as April. Reporting by Navya Mittal and Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia's ANZ shareholders approve new holding structure
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

FILE PHOTO: A man talks on his phone in front of an ANZ Banking corporation tower in central Sydney, Australia February 20, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz/File Photo(Reuters) - Australia and New Zealand Banking Group said on Thursday its shareholders voted to establish a new holding company to separate its banking and non-banking businesses into two different groups. The move was initially announced in May, in an effort to prevent non-banking activities from affecting banking customers, a method several global banks have employed. 99.17% of votes were cast in favor of creating the non-operating holding company, ANZ Group Holdings Limited, which is expected to begin trading on the Australian and New Zealand exchanges from Jan. 4, 2023, ANZ said. The new corporate structure will need a court approval before it is implemented, which the bank expects to come by Dec. 19, it added.

☆ Indonesia’s green step not yet a leap for mankind
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

That’s where the private sector comes in, and why Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) are a potential game changer. More significantly, seven international banks, including HSBC (HSBA.L), (0005.HK), Citigroup and Bank of America (BAC.N), have promised to match that amount. International Finance Corporation figures show that “concessional” finance extended by public bodies at below-market rates can often attract 10 times its own level in private finance. The GFANZ working group will need to ensure Jakarta is sticking to its side of the decarbonisation bargain. The GFANZ group includes Bank of America, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Macquarie, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Standard Chartered.

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